Drapery installations

ABSTRACT

In common drapery installations consisting of two panels slidably suspended from a support rod and adapted to be moved together or apart, when they are separated the position of the support rod between the panels is exposed to view. This invention provides an intermediate and also slidably suspended fabric vertically dimensioned to conceal the support rod when the panels are spaced apart and provides accordeon-pleated strips forming the upper edges of the panels in the outline of upward projections, with the juxtaposed end projections of the two strips extending outward at an angle to the rod in the form of flaps. When the panels are brought together the intermediate fabric is collapsed and concealed between the said two flaps and the portions of the panels immediately below the flaps.

United States Patent 91 Hess [54] DRAPERY INSTALLATIONS [76] Inventor: Morris Hess, 436 Fort Washington [52] U.S.Cl ..160/126, 160/330 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47h 1/00 [58] Field of Search ..160/19, 123-124,

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,381,817 6/1921 Freeman ..160/l23 2,238,559 4/1941 Farley 3,093,187 6/1963 Maras 160/123 Primary Examiner-Peter M. Caun Attorney--Frank Ledermann 51 May 1,1973

[ ABSTRACT In common drapery installations consisting of two panels s1idably suspended from a support rod and adapted to be moved together or apart, when they are separated the position of the support rod between the panels is exposed to view. This invention provides an intermediate and also s1idably suspended fabric vertically dimensioned to conceal the support rod when the panels are spaced apart and provides accordeon pleated strips forming the upper edges of the panels in the outline of upward projections, with the juxtaposed end projections of the two strips extending outward at an angle to the rod in the form of flaps. When the panels are brought together the intermediate fabric is flaps.

2 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures Patented May 1, 1973 v 3,730,249

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patnted May 1; 1973 3,730,249

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 r DRAPERY INSTALLATIONS Referring briefly to the accompanying drawings,

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a portion of a house wall surrounding a window and having secured thereto above the window a hollow slotted support rod from which a pair of like drapery panels are slidably suspended and joined at the top by an intermediate fabric also slidably suspended from the support rod and concealing the portion of the latter which otherwise would be exposed to view as the panels are spaced apart.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary rear elevational view of one of the drapery panels.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view taken along the line 5- 5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 6-6 ofFlG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of the upper portion of the intermediate fabric of FIG. 1, in substantially fully extended condition.

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing a modified construction wherein two slotted support rods are provided instead of a single rod.

, FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken along the line 9-9 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a front view of one form of a drapery supporting rod which may be used as part of the present installation.

FIG. 1 1 is an end view taken along the line 11-1 1 of FIG. 10.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 50 designates an interior house wall against or adjacent to which a hollow support rod is horizontally mounted, the rod 11 having a general oval-shaped cross-section and having a longitudinal slot 13 in its front wall 12. Merely by way of example, the rod 11 is shown attached to the house wall by a series of screws 14 driven through its rear wall 15 and into the house wall. A window 51 is shown partly concealed by two spaced apart drapery panels 16. 7 Each of the panels 16 has its main body portion 17 formed of any suitable drapery material, for example, a readily foldable and flexible fabric, and has its upper edge portion 18 (FIGS. 4 and 6) adhered by a suitable cement, a sealing tape, or other well-known means, all not shown, to the rear lower edge portion 19 of a strip 20 formed of cardboard, plastic, or other suitable relatively stiff material. This strip is pleated in accordeon fashion, that is, along alternate vertical pleat lines 21, 22. Consequently the strip 20 is composed of a series of upstanding projections 23. Various views of the drawing show, as an example of an ornamental outline, the projections 23 as peak-shaped to simulate the upstanding peaks of a royal crown. Thus the pleats 22 are shorter than the pleats 21. The projections 23 may of course have any desired ornamental outline other than that shown, and their front surfaces may have an omamental fabric, cloth or paper, not shown, adhered thereto.

As will be made clear below, the accordeon arrangement of the strips 20 makes the upper portions of the drapery panels tend toward a vertical position and to bulge outward from the vertical plane of the rod 1 1.

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In order to suspend the drapery panels slidably from the rod 11, a suitable number of grooved unitary slide members 24 are provided on the backs, that is, the sides facing the house wall, of all of the pleats 22. Each slide member 24 is preferably made of plastic and includes an elongated flat base 25 which is adhered to the back of a pleat 22 (whence the pleats 22 are somewhat flattened out, as illustrated in FIG. 5) and a peg-like right-angle rearward extension 29 is shown in the form of a stem 27 terminating in a head 26. The diameter or thickness of the stem portion 27 is small enough to extend through the slot 13 while the head 26 has a diameter larger than the width of the slot 13; thus the surface of the stem is equivalent to a groove. The slide members 24 are registered in the slot through one end of the rod 1 1.

The upper edge portions of the panels 16 are joined by an intermediate piece of fabric 28 which is preferably thin and soft, and its maximum and minimum vertical dimensions are at least sufficient to conceal the rod 11. The juxtaposed end projections of the two strips 20 are designated by the numerals 23a and 23b. These two projections are secured to the strips by their next adjacent pleats 22; that is, their extremities 22b have no grooved slides thereon so that they are pivoted on the saidadjacent pleats 22a and therefore tend to extend outward in the form of flaps from and at an angle to the rod 11 as shown, for example, in F IG. 9. The two halves of these juxtaposed projections are designated by the numerals 33 and 34. The horizontal ends 31 and 32 of the intermediate fabric 28 are secured to the portions of the projection halves 33 close to the said adjacent pleats 22a. Such securement, preferably releasable, may be made by any conventional means; for example, snap buttons 36 with one half thereof on each end (31, 32) of the fabric 28 and the other half on each flap portion 33.

The fabric 28 is provided on its back side with a series of similar or equivalent slide members 24a, exemplified in FIG. 7. The slides 240 .are also registered in the slot 13. From FIG. 9 it is now obvious that when the two drapery panels are brought together to shut off the window, the entire length of the fabric 28 will be concealed behind the projections, i.e., flaps, 23a and 23b and the upper portions of the panels immediately below the flaps. FIG. 1 illustrates how the fabric 28 covers and conceals the rod 11 when the panels 16 are separated a distance from each other. The horizontal length of the fabric is a matter of choice and is proportionate to the distance the two panels may be separated from each other.

All of the bases 24 have a hole 30 therein, FIG. 4, through all of which a string 31 is passed, and in order to limit the degree to which the strips 20 may be distorted toward a relatively flattened out condition, alternate holes 30 have the string, in each panel, have the stringknotted therein. FIG. 1 shows the bottom edges of the panels 16 also provided with accordeon-pleated strips 20a forming projections 23d similar to those provided on the upper edges of the panels.

In FIG. 8 two vertically spaced rods 11 are shown with equivalently spaced slide members 24 attached to the pleats 22 of somewhat elongated projections 230. Thus the upper edges of the draperies are more positively confined to a vertical plane with consequent vertical positioning in that plane of the remainders of the panels.

Instead of being mounted in front of a window, the installation may be made in front of any portion of a house wall as well as against a picture frame. The vertical dimension or dimensions of the intermediate panel 28 are a matter of choice. The instant invention, it is to be noted, eliminates conventional drapery hooks whose function is taken over by the slide members.

As one example of means for preventing the slide members 24 and 240 from exiting from the ends of the slot 13, the rod 11 is shown provided at opposite ends with pins or the like 35 which are inserted through vertically aligned holes in the top and bottom walls after the slide members have all been registered in the slot. Of course any other suitable means may be provided for the same purpose.

The draperies disclosed may be operated entirely by hand, in the manner of ordinary window curtains, when they are relatively small. But as is well known in the case of larger draperies, which are operated by cords, the opposed ends of the top edges of the panels are secured to the ends of the support, not shown, as the essential characteristic of the instant invention is that set forth in the foregoing Abstract of Disclosure. That characteristic is applicable to all types of conventional and wellknown drapery installations.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A drapery installation including a hollow rod adapted to be supported in horizontal position and having a longitudinal slot in the front wall thereof, two drapery panels each including a strip of accordeonpleated relatively stiff material forming the top edge of each of the panels thereby providing side-by-side upward projections, a first set of grooved slide members on the backs of alternate pleats of each of said strips registering in said slot and including means constraining said members to slidable movement in the slot, said projections concealing the portions of said rod behind them, the two mutually opposed end projections of said strips comprising flaps extending outward from said rod, an intermediate length of fabric having a second set of grooved slide members on the back thereof registering in said slot and including means constraining the same to slidable movement in the slot, said fabric having the ends thereof secured to said flaps close to the immediately adjacent one of said alternate pleats and being vertically dimensioned to conceal the portion of said rod between said panels when said panels have their juxtaposed vertical edges spaced apart, said fabric being collapsed and hidden behind said flaps and the upper portions of said juxtaposed vertical edges of said panels immediately below said flaps when said juxtaposed vertical edges of the panels are brought together, and means on the ends of said rod obstructing said slot.

2. A drapery installation according to claim 1, each of said first set of slide members including a base portion extending downward below said slot and having a hole therethrough, each of said panels having a string extending through all of said holes in said slide members thereof, said string being knotted about the holes in alternate slide members including the hole in said immediately adjacent one of said alternate pleats. 

1. A drapery installation including a hollow rod adapted to be supported in horizontal position and having a longitudinal slot in the front wall thereof, two drapery panels each including a strip of accordeon-pleated relatively stiff material forming the top edge of each of the panels thereby providing side-by-side upward projections, a first set of grooved slide members on the backs of alternate pleats of each of said strips registering in said slot and including means constraining said members to slidable movement in the slot, said projections concealing the portions of said rod behind them, the two mutually opposed end projections of said strips comprising flaps extending outward from said rod, an intermediate length of fabric having a second set of grooved slide members on the back thereof registering in said slot and including means constraining the same to slidable movement in the slot, said fabric having the ends thereof secured to said flaps close to the immediately adjacent one of said alternate pleats and being vertically dimensioned to conceal the portion of said rod between said panels when said panels have their juxtaposed vertical edges spaced apart, said fabric being collapsed and hidden behind said flaps and the upper portions of said juxtaposed vertical edges of said panels immediately below said flaps when said juxtaposed vertical edges of the panels are brought together, and means on the ends of said rod obstructing said slot.
 2. A drapery installation according to claim 1, each of said first set of slide members including a base portion extending downward below said slot and having a hole therethrough, each of said panels having a string extending through all of said holes in said slide members thereof, said string being knotted about the holes in alternate slide members including the hole in said immediately adjacent one of said alternate pleats. 